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The Graven Shield, Orc Fighter 14, CR 15
Graven, better known as The Graven Shield, is an orc mercenary. He specializes as a bodyguard-for-hire, working to protect his client (usually an evil spellcaster) from harm, something he does quite well. He uses a bladed shield, an esoteric item that blends offense and defense, something Graven is a master at. Stat Block Graven CR 15 Male orc fighter 14 LE Medium Humanoid (Orc) Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +0, Spot +0 Aura faint conjuration (potion of cure moderate wounds), faint conjuration (potion of cure serious wounds), moderate abjuration (ring of protection +2), moderate abjuration and moderate transmutation (+3 arrow-catching bashing/+3 throwing returning large bladed shield), moderate evil, moderate evocation (necklace of fireballs type V), moderate law, moderate universal (+3 breastplate), strong transmutation (amulet of natural armor +5) Languages Common, Orc ----- AC 33 (+8 breastplate, +6 shield (including Improved Shield Use), +2 Dex, +5 amulet, +2 ring), touch 14, flat-footed 31 hp 119 (14 HD) Fort +13, Ref +6, Will +4 Weakness light sensitivity ----- Spd 20 ft. Melee +3 arrow-catching bashing/+3 throwing returning large bladed shield +26/+21/+16 (3d6+14/19-20) Ranged +3 arrow-catching bashing/+3 throwing returning large bladed shield +21 (3d6+14/19-20) Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft. Base Atk +14; Grp +21 Combat Gear +3 arrow-catching bashing/+3 throwing returning large bladed shield, necklace of fireballs type V ----- Abilities Str 24, Dex 15, Con 16, Int 8, Wis 10, Cha 6 Feats Combat Reflexes, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (bladed shield), Feather Weight Shield, Greater Shield Deflection, Greater Weapon Focus (bladed shield), Greater Weapon Specialization (bladed shield), Improved Shield Bash, Improved Shield Use, Shield Deflection, Shield Other, Shield Parry, Weapon Focus (bladed shield), Weapon Specialization (bladed shield) Skills Climb +8, Intimidate +4, Jump +8, Listen +0, Search -1, Spot +0, Swim +5 Possessions amulet of natural armor +5, +3 breastplate, potion of cure serious wounds, potion of cure moderate wounds, ring of protection +2, 350 gp ----- Light Sensitivity (Ex): Graven is dazzled in bright sunlight or within the radius of a daylight spell, taking a -1 penalty on attack rolls, Spot checks, and Search checks. Combat Graven always stays close to his client, keeping them either one square directly to his right, one square back and to his right, or in the square behind him. This way, he can apply half of his total shield bonus (+3) to their AC with his Shield Other feat. If his client should be injured, he gives them his potion of cure moderate wounds, always saving the potion of cure serious wounds for himself. If opponents use ranged attacks, Graven’s AC bonus from his shield rises from +6 to +12, due to his Shield Deflection feat. Any ranged weapon with an enhancement bonus of +2 or less fired at an ally within 5 feet of Graven targets Graven instead, and those attacking Graven with ranged weapons do not suffer any miss chance that would otherwise apply. A foe that attacks Graven and receives a 29-33 on their attack roll has missed due to his shield. Thanks to his Shield Parry feat, Graven may then make an attack of opportunity against that attacker. Note that Graven uses his shield in his primary (right) hand. If caught in an effect that allows a Reflex save, and Evasion would apply, Graven gains a +6 bonus from his shield due to his Greater Shield Deflection feat. However, this causes his shield to make a saving throw against the effect (+6 bonus to all saves) or be damaged. Graven’s shield has hardness 22 and 80 hit points. Graven rarely throws his shield, despite its throwing and returning enchantments. He usually only uses it as a ranged weapon when he and his client have cover, and only when there’s no other way to engage ranged enemies; otherwise he’ll use beads from his necklace of fireballs. Graven can throw his shield to a maximum of 50 feet, with a -1 penalty to the attack roll for every 10 foot increment beyond the first. Design Notes Graven’s CR is increased by 1 to account for his PC-level wealth. He has gear worth approximately 150,000 gp, as a 14th-level PC, instead of the 45,000 gp he’d get as a 14th-level NPC. Note that his necklace of fireballs type V is priced here using the correct market price of 5,850 gp (as it's listed on page 263 of the DMG) instead of the incorrect price of 6,150 gp given on Table 7-27 in the DMG (page 247). Graven’s ability scores were generated using the “powerful array”: Str 18, Dex 14, Con 16, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 8. The racial modifiers for being an orc were then applied (+4 Str, -2 Int, -2 Wis, -2 Cha), and then 2 ability points from leveling up were added to Str, and 1 to Dex. The bladed shield weapon, and the Feather Weight Shield, Greater Shield Deflection, Improved Shield Use, Shield Deflection, Shield Other, and Shield Parry feats (as well as the notes on Exotic Weapon Proficiency (bladed shield)) are from the article “With Your Shield On It” from Knights of the Dinner Table #100 (pages 113-116). To summarize the feats used here from that article: * Feather Weight Shield eliminates the shield’s armor check penalty, and lets it be drawn as a free action. * Greater Shield Deflection lets a character apply their total shield bonus (+6 for Graven) to any Reflex save that Evasion would apply against. The shield, however, must make a saving throw or be damaged. * Improved Shield Use increases the shield’s shield bonus by +1. * Shield Deflection makes the AC bonus a shield grants against normal missile attacks is doubled (the +1 deflection bonus from the shield's arrow-catching ability would be included here, but doesn't stack with the deflection bonus from the ring of protection). This does not apply to thrown boulders or ranged spells, or to any attack when the shield bearer is flat-footed. * Shield Other makes it so that an ally within 5 feet of your shield hand, or 5 feet behind you, gains ½ of your shield bonus (for Graven, this is his right hand, and they gain a +3 bonus). * Shield Parry makes it so that if an opponent’s melee attack misses the shield bearer’s AC by the bearer’s shield bonus or less, then the shield bearer gets an immediate attack of opportunity against the attacker (e.g., if an attacker gets a total of 29-33 on their attack roll against Graven, they failed to hit due to his shield, and Graven may immediately make an attack of opportunity against them). This only works on enemies of up to one size category larger than the shield bearer. Note that, despite the article’s feats not being listed as Fighter bonus feats, they are considered to be so here. This is due to how the feats from the article are, thematically, similar to other Fighter bonus feats. Graven’s shield is separately enchanted as a shield and as a weapon. While the total enhancement bonus on it is +6, which is greater than a non-epic item should have, this is due to the separate enchantments. Notation 2 for tables 7-11 and 7-12 in the DMG (page 222) state that double weapons can have an enhancement bonus of equal value on each head, which seems to imply that, for weapons that can have separate parts of them enchanted, the rule about having a total enhancement bonus of +5 or less is waived. Hence, this is applied here. Graven’s shield is considered to have a caster level of 9, since enchanting a weapon with a +3 enhancement bonus would take a 9th-level caster. This is used to determine the shield’s saving throw bonuses. Likewise, the shield’s total enhancement bonus (+6) is used to determine its hardness and hit points. Graven’s bladed shield benefits from the bashing quality, but only in regards to the increased damage (1d8 increased by two size categories to 3d6). It does not “act as a +1 weapon” since it already has a weapon enhancement bonus. Note that, as mentioned in the bladed shield entry, a bladed shield’s blade attacks receive all modifiers applied to a shield bash attack (such as the Improved Shield Bash feat and the bashing quality). Alzrius Category:CR 15 Category:Orc Category:Fighter